Rainy Day
by BRgirl17
Summary: One-shot. Izumi forgot to bring her umbrella to school and the rain is pouring down. Mitsuru shows up with a solution. Gen/Fluff. Mitsuru/Izumi.


_Isn't this typical?___

Izumi sighed as she watched the heavy rain pour down, wearing a slight frown on her face. She had searched refuge under the school's roof, but she knew she couldn't stay there all evening. At this point, the rain didn't seem like it would let up anytime soon. If there only had been any sign before she left her house that morning that the weather would turn out this bad, of course she would have brought her reliable pink umbrella. But she had assumed the dark clouds would pass soon enough.  
Her sensible friends, like Satomi and Noriko, always carried one when the sky looked as dark as it had done that morning. But of course, Izumi just had to be on cleaing duty this week and had stayed behind in their classroom after school had ended. If not, she would have left with her friends and would surely have been able to seek cover under one of their umbrellas. But of course...  
_No such luck.__  
_Sighing again, louder this time, Izumi decided to try taking a step into the pouring rain. But the second she left the safe spot beneath the roof, she was soaked. In the matter of seconds, it looked as if she had just come out of the shower. She spun around and leaped back to her shelter.  
If she had lived closer to the school, she would just have run home. But unfortunately, her house in the nicer neighborhood of town would take some time to reach. And for one, she wasn't the most athletic person. She didn't do any sports and she always had to beg Haruka and Yukie to wait for her when they were jogging in gym class. Second of all, it was a cold October day. She didn't want to gamble getting sick right now. She would just have to keep hope that the weather would improve before long. Izumi crossed her arms and leant her back against the wall, her eyes watching the raindrops absentmindedly.  
_It really is beautiful though_, she thought. _Although I would prefer watching it from my window or in a romantic movie...___

Just as Izumi was about to engage in a daydream where she was the star of her favorite romantic comedy, "_Love always knocks twice"_, her thoughts were interrupted.  
"Ehm... 'Ey."  
Izumi turned her head, startled. She hadn't heard anyone exiting the school-building. No, actually the doors would be closed by now. Even the teachers had gone home. So who was still here?  
As she looked in the direction of the slightly nervous voice, her question was quickly answered. Mitsuru Numai, one of the thugs from their class, was slowly walking towards her. It would appear he was coming from the back of the school, which meant he might have been hanging out with his gang by the corner where they sometimes went to smoke.  
_But... in this weather? That doesn't make much sense.__  
_Izumi decided it hardly mattered what he had been hanging around school for. She remembered she hadn't greeted him back, and blushed lightly.  
"Hello," she said, lowering her eyes.  
Unlike some of her friends (Haruka would always warn her to steer clear of "boys like him"), she had nothing against Mitsuru. In fact, she kind of liked him. Not that she had a crush on him or anything, but he was always nice to girls. And sort of cute. Sort of _very_ cute. Her lips formed into a soft smile, but she was still staring down at the wet ground.  
Now that she had been made aware that Mitsuru was there, she could hear his footsteps clearly, drawing closer. Then they stopped. Again Izumi looked up at him. She waited for him to say something else, but he looked like he perhaps was expecting the same from her. She grew desperate to think of something to say in order to break the silence. The last thing she needed was to feel awkward with a cute boy.  
"S-So... Numai-kun, the weather is nice, isn't it?" Izumi had intended to sound charmingly sarcastic, but the uncertain tone of her voice made it seem like a genuine inquiry. Which in turn made her sound completely dense. She bit her tongue and instantly knew her cheeks now flushed even redder.  
Numai merely chuckled and looked up from underneath his umbrella. Izumi couldn't help but envy him for being smart enough to bring one.  
_A-Ah, someone else who will get home warm and dry. __  
_"Oh yeah, totally. Yer into storms, huh?" He asked, grinning at her. Izumi shrugged, only managing to smile back as a response. She worried if she tried saying something clever, she would end up sounding like an idiot again. So she decided the safest thing to do was to keep her mouth shut. Besides, her heart was beginning to beat so hard, it diffused all of her thoughts.  
_Why... Why do I act so thick around him?__  
_"Aren't ya going home?" Mitsuru asked, taking a few steps closer. As he moved towards her, she was beginning to grow uneasy. Not because she was scared of him, but... He made her feel nervous. And strange. She didn't know what to make of it.  
"I am... I was just hoping this would let up first," she explained, gesturing to the rain as she glanced out at the schoolyard, before promptly directing her eyes back at him. "But it doesn't look like that will happen shortly, does it?"  
He shook his head slowly, also turning his gaze to study the current conditions.  
"Doubt it. Doesn't look too good for ya, Kanai." When he turned back to face her, he threw a look at her empty hands. As if he just realized what necessary item she was missing, he raised an eyebrow slightly. "Aha, I see... Ya should have said! You'd catch a cold going home like that, y'know."

Mitsuru hurried closer to her, his form now standing directly in front of Izumi. Before she had time to protest, he gently shoved the handle of his umbrella into her tiny hand. Surprised at the action, she lifted her other hand in pure reflex and grabbed it with both of them. In a brief moment, her fingers lingered by his wrist. But then he pulled his hand back and the moment was gone, just as swiftly as it had happened.  
Mitsuru was now standing unshielded, his curly hair already dripping wet.  
"There! Now yer not doomed to sleep here tonight." He smiled crookedly and placed his hands deep into the pockets of his uniform. Izumi finally mustered the courage to meet his eyes, her own full of gratitude. Mitsuru had been kind before, but their interactions were still mostly those of a quick greeting accomplished by a shy smile in the hallways. And now...  
"Thank you," she mumbled, unable to keep the bright smile off her face. "This is really... T-Thank you."  
"Don't mention it," Mitsuru said indisputably as he turned away from her. "I better hurry though. Take care, 'kay?"  
Izumi wanted to say something more. To ask him to walk with her, perhaps. But he began sprinting off at top speed, most definitely eager to get home and dry himself off. She gripped the handle on the umbrella tightly and watched him disappear into the driving rain. Izumi stood still for a few more minutes, until she could no longer see his figure. Then she began her long walk home, the smile still stuck on her face. All of a sudden she felt much warmer, despite the cold air.


End file.
